Episode 449
“The Great Sage, you say?”
Zeke recalled the message that had appeared when he resurrected Agamemnon’s mask.
[The name of ???‘s mask has been confirmed.]
[The mask of the Great Sage Atrahasis has been restored.]
Atrahasis, a name unknown to the world, belonged to the Great Sage. Only Zeke knew this true name.
He looked up at the figure who had declared himself the Great Sage and asked, “Are you the spirit of the Great Sage?”
The sage nodded, and the snake-shaped earrings on his ears jingled softly. “The situation is a bit different from other spirits, but overall, you could say that’s correct.”
Though the answer was vague, Zeke was accustomed to the cryptic ways of wizards and let it slide. He continued, “Why is the spirit of the Great Sage here in the Temple of Origins? And how do you know my name? What do you mean by saying you were waiting for me?”
The sage smiled at Zeke’s barrage of questions and nodded. “You must have many questions. This conversation might take a while, so let’s move to a more comfortable place.”
With a snap of his fingers, the surroundings transformed.
In an instant, the temple vanished, replaced by a room adorned with elegant tiles and white drapes. Zeke, having experienced something similar when he met the spirit of Hoshgar, remained calm and surveyed his new surroundings.
The Great Sage gestured for Zeke to sit. “Please, have a seat. I understand you enjoy tea. Allow me to offer you a specialty from Carcosa.”
Carcosa, a legendary city long since fallen. The idea of tasting tea from such a place seemed like an unbelievable jest to Zeke.
The sage soon returned with a tea set of unfamiliar design. He heated the water, added dried tea leaves to the pot, and waited for it to steep. Once ready, he strained the leaves and poured the tea into a separate teapot before serving it to Zeke.
“This is black tea, a specialty of Carcosa. Please, try it.”
Zeke inhaled the aroma of the tea the sage offered. “The scent is different from any tea I’m familiar with.”
“It’s oxidized and processed differently from the teas you know. Each city produces its own varieties of black tea, but Carcosa’s is my favorite. It’s elegant, clean, and dignified.”
The sage sipped his tea, savoring it, and Zeke followed suit, appreciating the unique flavor of the black tea.
After finishing his tea, Zeke looked up at the sage and spoke. “The Elder Dragon led me here.”
The sage raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been to the pyramid of Carcosa, then.”
Zeke recalled the massive central structure he had entered. “Pyramid… so that’s what it’s called.”
“It’s a magnificent structure symbolizing the wondrous city of Carcosa. King Solomon, with his wisdom, united the strengths of all races to complete the pyramid, making Carcosa a beloved city among the constellations.”
Zeke spoke calmly, “The Great Sage is known as a figure from the era of the Hero King, yet you speak as if you know the age of the constellations well.”
The sage set down his cup and looked at Zeke. “The Hero King Kaishir. The world I know is divided into before and after his birth. After Kaishir, the world became an era of heroes rather than constellations.”
Zeke pondered the sage’s words before asking, “Are you saying you’ve lived from the age of the constellations to the era of the Hero King?”
The sage smiled. “I’ve lived a very long time, Sir Zeke. It wasn’t by choice, but it seems it was the wheel of my destiny.”
Zeke fell silent at the sage’s enigmatic words, then opened his inventory to reveal sacred relics: the Holy Grail from the Ark, the scabbard from the war god Tyr, and Agamemnon’s mask. The three relics appeared together.
The sage looked intrigued. “The first sacred relics imbued with the power of the primordial light… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen all three together.”
Zeke addressed the sage, “The Elder Dragon tasked me with bringing these relics to the Temple of Origins.”
The sage nodded. “Ah, the main quest of the Kabbalah system.”
Zeke was taken aback by the mention of the Kabbalah system. “You know about the Kabbalah system?”
The sage chuckled. “Of course. I helped King Solomon design it to share with the Elder Dragon.”
Zeke’s eyes widened. “The Great Sage created the Kabbalah system?”
The sage gestured, and a system window identical to Zeke’s appeared before him. “Though I couldn’t compare to King Solomon, as a master administrator, I and the Elder Dragon could manipulate karma to some extent using the system.”
Karma, the power to manipulate causality, could even alter the laws of the world. Zeke asked the sage, “Is it possible to handle karma without the system?”
The sage nodded. “It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible. Solomon learned to manipulate karma using the power he received from the god of chaos, and he shared this knowledge with us in the form of the system.”
“So, it’s possible to handle karma even without the system.”
“Indeed, handling karma isn’t particularly special. Magic and aura are also ways of manipulating karma. The difference lies in how much ‘causality’ one can bear.”
Zeke tilted his head, puzzled. “What do you mean by bearing causality?”
“Simply put, consider this: before me is Carcosa’s black tea. Normally, a long process is required to make this tea, isn’t it?”
Zeke nodded. “Yes, you’d need to grow, dry, and process the tea leaves, which takes time and effort.”
“Exactly. That’s causality. But watch this.”
The sage placed his hand on the container of black tea, and suddenly, there were two containers.
Zeke was startled. “Did you bring another container of tea?”
The sage shook his head. “I used karma to replace the causality, making it so that another container of this tea exists here.”
Zeke recalled a similar demonstration by the Hermit of Stories, who had manipulated karma without the system. A thought crossed his mind.
“Karma points… you mean they can replace causality?”
The sage nodded. “Manipulating karma is a power originally granted to the constellations. They were given the authority to adjust and control the world’s laws with the primordial light. But as always, excessive power leads to problems. The constellations squandered karma, and causality became twisted.”
The sage’s expression darkened. “The world, with its twisted causality, became a nightmare. Some places suffered floods, others dried up from drought. Excessive production led to waste, poisoning the land and rivers, while elsewhere, people froze to death.”
The reckless use of karma by the constellations had dire consequences. Yet, they continued to use karma as they pleased, distorting the natural order and causing impossible events.
Zeke sensed the sage’s profound sorrow in his voice.
The sage looked up and spoke again. “Except for a few cities under the constellations’ protection, the world became a hellish place. King Solomon and the Elder Dragon joined forces to set things right.”
Zeke nodded. “The Elder Dragon told me. King Solomon sought to overcome his limits and made a pact, becoming an immortal.”
The sage nodded. “Indeed. King Solomon eradicated or sealed countless threats to the world. From cursed spirits to powerful ancient races and monsters born from the constellations’ whims…”
Zeke thought of the Blood King Caligula, who had been absorbed into him. He was the king of the Simjian race, who had sealed himself away to escape the Godslayer Solomon.
“Solomon didn’t just target demons or the Blood King; he dealt with all beings that threatened the world.”
The sage continued, “Solomon realized that simply addressing the symptoms wasn’t enough. The root problem had to be solved.”
“And what was the root problem?”
The sage looked at Zeke. “The constellations themselves.”
In the end, the root of all the chaos on earth was the capricious constellations.
The Great Sage continued, “Among the constellations, there were those who were wise and sought to maintain peace on earth. However, most were only absorbed in their own desires. King Solomon initially tried to persuade them, but… those arrogant beings never listened to him.”
The constellations, who imprisoned the primordial light and stole its power for their own amusement and desires.
Just hearing about the atrocities of the constellations made Zeke’s blood boil.
“So that’s why King Solomon began the god-slaying campaign?”
The Great Sage shook his head. “It wasn’t Solomon’s initial intention to slay the gods. It was the Ring of Sealing, crafted by the combined powers of the Fairy King and the Elder Dragon, that changed his mind.”
Zeke struggled to grasp the sage’s words, so he retrieved Solomon’s ring from his inventory and asked, “How did this ring become the catalyst for Solomon’s god-slaying?”
The Great Sage looked at the ring in Zeke’s hand with a troubled expression, then nodded heavily before speaking. “The ring, created by the Elder Dragon and the Fairy King, was originally intended to seal beings that even Solomon couldn’t destroy. These were entities that only the Fairy King could handle, meant to be temporarily contained. But…”
The sage’s face hardened as he continued, “Once Solomon realized the ring could imprison constellations, he made a different choice.”
Constellations, unlike mortals, were known to be indestructible, perfect beings. Mortals could never hope to fight them; only battles between constellations were possible. Yet, when constellations clashed, the earth bore the brunt of the damage.
Thus, Solomon endeavored to negotiate with the constellations as much as possible. But upon discovering that the ring could seal constellations and even harness some of their powers, Solomon chose another path.
“He began to imprison the constellations that twisted causality within the ring and used their power to hunt even stronger constellations. At first, the constellations mocked Solomon, but as more powerful ones were sealed, they began to grasp the gravity of the situation. However, the real problem came next.”
The Great Sage paused, then spoke in a somber tone as he looked at Zeke. “Solomon sought out the god of chaos, trapped under the name of the goddess Theia, once more. And he made a request.”
Closing his eyes, he spoke slowly, “He asked for a way to annihilate the constellations.”